How Manchester United’s 2025 summer transfer strategy could define their season

However, they are relying on their pulling power as one of the world’s most recognizable clubs to attract top talent in the ongoing summer transfer window, aiming to rebuild a squad capable of reclaiming their former glory.

The Red Devils found themselves in a self-inflicted dilemma after appointing Ruben Amorim midway through last season, fully aware of the type of football he wanted to play. United's squad was totally unsuited to the Portuguese coach's vision and lacked players with the athletic capacity to cope with his physically intense style. 

However, with a full summer transfer window now in full swing, Amorim has the opportunity to reshape the squad in his image, bringing in players who align with his footballing philosophy, and can thrive under his demanding system.

Though, he likely won't be able to pull off the rebuild he would like due to the club's financial problems and the danger of breaking the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules, especially after United lost the Europa League final to Tottenham and missed out on the golden ticket of Champions League qualification and the cash bonanza that would have come it.

The club can increase their budget of course, by selling players, while some space in the wage bill has already been freed up by the departures of Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans after their contracts expired.

With all that taken into consideration, Softfootball has outlined the key areas Manchester United must address in this summer transfer window that could define their campaign, and prevent another turbulent season at Old Trafford.

Over consecutive summers, Manchester United invested a combined £108.5m on two players they thought would strengthen their attack. Rasmus Hojlund arrived for a fee that could rise to £72m from Atalanta in August 2023 and Joshua Zirkzee arrived from Bologna 11 months later.

Neither of them have shown anywhere enough to suggest they can lead United's attack, with Hojlund regressing last season and Zirkzee making it clear he is not a No.9.

Earlier in the summer, Softfootball understood that the Red Devils went to great length  to convince Liam Delap on a move to Old Trafford, but Chelsea have subsequently won the race for the highly coveted England international. 

United have a reported budget of £100 million ($134m) for their transfer activities and they have already secured the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves, and Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford.

Reuben Amorim’s squad needed fresh blood in their attacking department and Cunha, on the back of a 15-goal Premier League season, is just the right man for the job. They also brought in Bryan Mbeumo which is a step in the right direction for the Red Devils going into the new season.

Cunha and Mbeumo could therefore bring that clinical edge that United are missing. In Amorim's United system, the wing-backs appear to be the most scrutinised area of the pitch, alongside the No 10s, but the signing of Cunha and Mbeumo have addressed the latter.

Amorim wants to add a striker to his squad before the new season begins, especially after missing out on Viktor Gyokeres last month. United have since turned their attention towards RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, with the Slovenian international taking priority after scoring 21 goals last season. 

Manchester United are locked in a fierce transfer battle with Newcastle United for the signature of highly-rated striker Benjamin Sesko. The Magpies are making an aggressive push to beat the Red Devils to the 22-year-old’s signature, intensifying the race as both clubs look to bolster their attacking options. Securing Sesko would be a significant addition for United, providing much needed firepower to their frontline ahead of the new campaign.

Sesko is an inexperienced 22-year-old physical standout, while Watkins is a solid 29-year-old Premier League producer. Putting aside that they're not similar players at all, signing Watkins would be trying to optimize the next season or two, while signing Sesko would be trying to optimize 2027 through 2030.

United thought they had resolved their goalkeeping situation when they signed Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir in the summer of 2023 after withdrawing the offer of a new contract for David de Gea. The call, made by Erik ten Hag and backed up by former sporting director John Murtough has proved to be a total disaster.

Onana has made too many costly errors since his arrival from Inter almost two years ago and many United fans remain unconvinced by him. The most likely scenario is that United will sell Bayindir and sign a new shot-stopper to compete with the Cameronian for the No.1 spot at Old Trafford.

Emi Martinez is a tempting option as he looks set to leave Aston Villa, but his crazy sending off on the final day of the season at Old Trafford provided a timely reminder that the Argentine can make baffling mistakes. 

Martinez would also demand a huge salary for a player who turns 33 in September, and thus United should instead go after a young, capable goalkeeper who is on the rise, such as Brighton's Bart Verbruggen or Lille's Lucas Chevalier.

Last summer, United had just one unwanted winger in Jadon Sancho who went on loan to Chelsea. Now they have three, and they must sell partly due to Amorim's style of play and also  due to personality clashes between the manager and the individual players. 

Whatever the reason, the club now needs to offload Sancho, Antony and Alejandro Garnacho for the best price possible. One departure among the wingers saw Marcus Rashford join Barcelona on loan until the end of the season, although the La Liga giants have the option to make the deal permanent.

Antony on the hand has revitalized his career at Real Betis, and even if the Conference League runners-up are unsuccessful in their plans to make the move permanent, there will be more demand for the former Ajax star from around Europe after he earned a Brazil recall off the back of scoring nine goals for Los Verdiblancos. 

Garnacho however, is attracting both most interest and the highest transfer fee of the three players as United have already informed him that he would be sold if a suitable offer comes along, even though he is being forced out by Amorim. 

There have been reports recently about Chelsea's interest in signing the Argentine winger, and United, who are expecting formal offers for Garnacho later in the window are aware of Chelsea's interest in the forward, whose future is likely to be away from Old Trafford.

News of Bruno Fernandes considering his future at Old Trafford amid interest from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal could leave United with a massive decision to make. A bid worth £100million is being mooted and the prospect of that officially being put to United could test their resolve.

A bid of such strength could convince United to cash-in on a player who will turn 31 in September. On the flip side, they may believe his importance to the team is just too great to ignore.

Even though United would have been worse off without him last season, highlighted by his return of 19 goals and 20 assists across all competitions, meaning that the Portuguese is Manchester United’s jewel in a broken crown and losing him now could damage the rhythm of the squad even further.

It’s already been a busy summer transfer window for Man United as they look to put a season to forget behind them. While the Red Devils are saying that they want to win in the future, everything they're doing is telling us that they can't wait. No, they want to win now.

For all the disappointment of last season and no trophies to soften the blow, there have been some minor reasons to be optimistic about the upcoming campaign.